Elgan speaks
...and her words thunder across the land

Full fathom five...

Sunday, Jun. 14, 2009
10:53 p.m.
For the past several years the drama department at Bushop’s has been putting on a spring musical. This is an actual course worth three credits that the students must audition for; it involves singing and dancing and acting, and extensive rehearsals. Herr Doktor Professor is always the musical director, along with his lovely assistant, Ms. Piano. The first year they tried this kind of caper, it was a huge production on the main stage theatre. Since then they use the studio theatre, which seems to be adequate.

The very first show they put on was a real Broadway musical. Since then they have done Shakespeare, sort of. Three years ago it was A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the music of Lennon/McCartney interspersed. Last year they rewrote Romeo and Juliet and used mountain music and some original numbers by the director himself (not Herr Doktor, the other director). This time around it’s The Tempest with the music of songwriters who protested the Vietnam war. I had thought I would go twice to see the alternate cast, but I was unimpressed by the singing in general and the choice of songs was baffling at times. Still, I know most of these kids as a lot of them are in choir, and I would like to support them. I just don’t know if I can sit through it again.

What really got to me is that everyone else loved it. These are not unintelligent, uneducated people. This is a university. These are intellectuals. But when it comes to culture and taste, I guess I must be a snob. The fellow who played Caliban, the sweetest guy, a bass in choir and incredibly good looking in the skimpy costume they had him in, asked me afterwards if he had sung flat. I answered, “Sometimes.” He laughed and said, “Only you would notice!”



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